((I'm actually working on this right after I posted the last chappie, so I don't know if anyone reviewed or likes it or anything. Oh well ^^; Hopefully I'll have it up today or tomorrow! This chapter will be longer, I promise. The last one was jut a prolouge thingy, remember?))'
--2 months later--
Pain shot through Cloud's body, his chest, bare besides some bandages covering his abdomen, ached from an attack hours before. His eyes slowly focused, as did his mind, as he began to recall the events that took place. He remembered at once the fight with Sora...the keyblade master.
That kid was the one destined to seperate the worlds again, and bring light to the every corner of them all? Cloud knew he'd have defeated him if he only had the heart to do it. He smirked at even thinking this. Having a heart wasn't something that Cloud Strife did...at least not for the past two months. But he couldn't bring himself to defeat the boy.
He knew that there was a magical barrier in works on the arena, preventing any real physical damage from occuring. But there were still kinks in the system. That was why he was laying there right now, his belly deeply bruised, and at least three of four broken ribs digging into what he was sure were vital organs.
Then...Cerberus. Sora, he recalled the boy's name as, hadn't done this damage. It was Hades' guard dog that had nearly killed him. He wouldn't be completely surprised if he *had* died, and simply been revived, but that wasn't important. He swung his legs painfully over the side of the bed, surveying his surroundings.
A few more small beds, all of which were empty, lined the wall. There was some medical equipment between the beds, against the walls. 'A hospital?' Cloud frowned, not recalling such a place ever being there. This must've been new since the heartless became more of a problem.
It wasn't until he tried to stand, that he noticed the IV in his arm. He trailed it to a small bag of crimson hanging near him. He sighed, and glanced down at his bandages, which were stained with the same liquid. 'blood'. He easily deduced, as he worked to slide the needle out of his arm.
"Leave that in." A light voice came from the doorway at the far end of the room. Cloud turned to meet a pair of purple eyes with his. It was a teenage girl, clothed in a short pair of khaki shorts, socks that nearly met where they ended, a forest-green sweater-style tank top that bended slightly above her naval, and some orange sneakers.
Cloud brushed a tuft of yellow hair from his crystal blue eyes, slowly recalling seeing the girl before. He sighed, and rubbed his eyes as he rested his face in his hands.
"How're you feelin'?" She asked, fairly bouncing over to him. The teenage girl plopped down on the bed next to him, situating herself cross-legged, and holding her feet in her small hands.
"Like Shit." Cloud mumbled, then looked up at her, questioningly. "What are you doing here, anyways, Yuffie?" He asked, pulling his legs back onto the bed, and lounging back against a stack of pillows.
"I've been working here for that lil' goat dude. The heartless are getting out of control, and more and more people are showing up in pretty bad shape. Even worse than you...if that's possible." She looked him over once, from head to tow. "You look a lot better than you have the past few days." She said after a short pause.
"Days?" Cloud asked, genuinely surprised this time. He was out for days? Even more surprising, Yuffie kept him alive during those days? Something seemed off, or maybe the young ninja actually had matured. He smiled slightly. Something was definately off, he decided.
"That Cerberus thing got you good, Cloud." Yuffie nodded. "You've got what...about four or five broken ribs, and probably something ruptured down in your abdomen, nothing vital if you're still alive though, I guess. And...." She frowned now. "And why the hell didn't you tell us!?" she suddenly snapped.
'of course.' Cloud sighed. He remembered running into Yuffie a few weeks ago, when she was there for some training with her new boyfriend...Squall, he thought his name was. They spent the day doing some training, and just catching up, not that they had much to talk about. They hadn't seen eachother in years, but they never were really close.
Talking about how he sacraficed his heart to revive the girl he'd loved wasn't exactally normal conversation, either. Not something he'd willingly tell Yuffie...or anyone else for that matter. But when he gets beat half to death by a dog, things like not having a heart come up.
"How'd you figure it out?" He asked quietly. Physically, he was the same as any other person. He had a heart thumping in his chest, which he could feel beating rather hard right now.
She poked his chest, and he sighed. The insignia, of course. It was a huge, burnt, welted scratch over his heart, the symbol of a heartless. It had appeared slowly after he lost his heart, and became more and more evident untill now, as it was deep contrast to his pale skin.
"Oh." He said plainly, not much else to be said about it.
"But...you're not a heartless, I mean...in body. And.......you're not...."
"killing you?" Cloud finished her sentence, and she just nodded. He sighed, not wnating to explain this. Because then she would know he cared for someone. Well, at one point. He couldn't really care any more, now, could he?
"Think you could explain?" Yuffie asked, her eyes even wider than usual. Cloud sighed, wanting less and less with each passing second to explain what had happened. Maybe he could just make something up? Yes! He could always lie.
"Hades." He said quietly, just praying he wouldn't have to say anything more. The look on her face said otherwise, but to his surprise, she didn't pry. Maybe Squall was changing her.
"Well....here....I should probably just check your vitals quick, you know, protocal and everything. This is like a real hospital in a lot of ways...." Yuffie said quietly, rummaging through a drawer filled of files, then another with various instruments.
An akward silence filled the air, but Cloud could live with akward. Yuffie silently took his blood pressure and temperature, then leaned in to hear his heartbeat.
'It's so...surreal...' Yuffie thought, listening to the steady thump-thumps. She sighed and pulled away, scribbling things in the file folder, and shoving it back in the drawer.
"Right....well, I don't know when they're gonna kick you out, but you seem to be doing better...." Yuffie said, and left. Simple as that...she was gone. Cloud sighed and layed back on the bed, pulling up the blanket over his head. He slowly drifted off into an uneasy sleep.
---
Rays of light warmed what little bare skin shown on Cloud Strife. He sat at the stairs of the world's exit, hoping to catch Sora before he left. He'd meant to give him a small gift before, but hadn't had the chance to before. He held the small stone in his hand, Sonic Blade. An ability stone, giving the owner the chance to use the contained attack.
'Like Materia.' A voice rang in his head. 'materia?' a puzzled look found its way to his lowered face. 'what the *hell* is materia?' Why was he even thinking about something like that? The word sounded less than foriegn in his mind, but he couldn't for the life of him recall what 'materia' was.
Why did it feel like there was a part of his past torn from him? Like he was missing something vital. 'Materia'. The word repeated itself in his head over and over. Why couldn't he remember? He looked up slightly, and reminded himself that he was supposed to be seeing the keybearer, who was only a few yards away now.
Now was not the time to worry about 'materia'.
((Sorry for another short chapter, but I'm eating and I wanna make a new RP site and stuff, so I'll have to make this some more later, alright? please review
--Kawaii))
--2 months later--
Pain shot through Cloud's body, his chest, bare besides some bandages covering his abdomen, ached from an attack hours before. His eyes slowly focused, as did his mind, as he began to recall the events that took place. He remembered at once the fight with Sora...the keyblade master.
That kid was the one destined to seperate the worlds again, and bring light to the every corner of them all? Cloud knew he'd have defeated him if he only had the heart to do it. He smirked at even thinking this. Having a heart wasn't something that Cloud Strife did...at least not for the past two months. But he couldn't bring himself to defeat the boy.
He knew that there was a magical barrier in works on the arena, preventing any real physical damage from occuring. But there were still kinks in the system. That was why he was laying there right now, his belly deeply bruised, and at least three of four broken ribs digging into what he was sure were vital organs.
Then...Cerberus. Sora, he recalled the boy's name as, hadn't done this damage. It was Hades' guard dog that had nearly killed him. He wouldn't be completely surprised if he *had* died, and simply been revived, but that wasn't important. He swung his legs painfully over the side of the bed, surveying his surroundings.
A few more small beds, all of which were empty, lined the wall. There was some medical equipment between the beds, against the walls. 'A hospital?' Cloud frowned, not recalling such a place ever being there. This must've been new since the heartless became more of a problem.
It wasn't until he tried to stand, that he noticed the IV in his arm. He trailed it to a small bag of crimson hanging near him. He sighed, and glanced down at his bandages, which were stained with the same liquid. 'blood'. He easily deduced, as he worked to slide the needle out of his arm.
"Leave that in." A light voice came from the doorway at the far end of the room. Cloud turned to meet a pair of purple eyes with his. It was a teenage girl, clothed in a short pair of khaki shorts, socks that nearly met where they ended, a forest-green sweater-style tank top that bended slightly above her naval, and some orange sneakers.
Cloud brushed a tuft of yellow hair from his crystal blue eyes, slowly recalling seeing the girl before. He sighed, and rubbed his eyes as he rested his face in his hands.
"How're you feelin'?" She asked, fairly bouncing over to him. The teenage girl plopped down on the bed next to him, situating herself cross-legged, and holding her feet in her small hands.
"Like Shit." Cloud mumbled, then looked up at her, questioningly. "What are you doing here, anyways, Yuffie?" He asked, pulling his legs back onto the bed, and lounging back against a stack of pillows.
"I've been working here for that lil' goat dude. The heartless are getting out of control, and more and more people are showing up in pretty bad shape. Even worse than you...if that's possible." She looked him over once, from head to tow. "You look a lot better than you have the past few days." She said after a short pause.
"Days?" Cloud asked, genuinely surprised this time. He was out for days? Even more surprising, Yuffie kept him alive during those days? Something seemed off, or maybe the young ninja actually had matured. He smiled slightly. Something was definately off, he decided.
"That Cerberus thing got you good, Cloud." Yuffie nodded. "You've got what...about four or five broken ribs, and probably something ruptured down in your abdomen, nothing vital if you're still alive though, I guess. And...." She frowned now. "And why the hell didn't you tell us!?" she suddenly snapped.
'of course.' Cloud sighed. He remembered running into Yuffie a few weeks ago, when she was there for some training with her new boyfriend...Squall, he thought his name was. They spent the day doing some training, and just catching up, not that they had much to talk about. They hadn't seen eachother in years, but they never were really close.
Talking about how he sacraficed his heart to revive the girl he'd loved wasn't exactally normal conversation, either. Not something he'd willingly tell Yuffie...or anyone else for that matter. But when he gets beat half to death by a dog, things like not having a heart come up.
"How'd you figure it out?" He asked quietly. Physically, he was the same as any other person. He had a heart thumping in his chest, which he could feel beating rather hard right now.
She poked his chest, and he sighed. The insignia, of course. It was a huge, burnt, welted scratch over his heart, the symbol of a heartless. It had appeared slowly after he lost his heart, and became more and more evident untill now, as it was deep contrast to his pale skin.
"Oh." He said plainly, not much else to be said about it.
"But...you're not a heartless, I mean...in body. And.......you're not...."
"killing you?" Cloud finished her sentence, and she just nodded. He sighed, not wnating to explain this. Because then she would know he cared for someone. Well, at one point. He couldn't really care any more, now, could he?
"Think you could explain?" Yuffie asked, her eyes even wider than usual. Cloud sighed, wanting less and less with each passing second to explain what had happened. Maybe he could just make something up? Yes! He could always lie.
"Hades." He said quietly, just praying he wouldn't have to say anything more. The look on her face said otherwise, but to his surprise, she didn't pry. Maybe Squall was changing her.
"Well....here....I should probably just check your vitals quick, you know, protocal and everything. This is like a real hospital in a lot of ways...." Yuffie said quietly, rummaging through a drawer filled of files, then another with various instruments.
An akward silence filled the air, but Cloud could live with akward. Yuffie silently took his blood pressure and temperature, then leaned in to hear his heartbeat.
'It's so...surreal...' Yuffie thought, listening to the steady thump-thumps. She sighed and pulled away, scribbling things in the file folder, and shoving it back in the drawer.
"Right....well, I don't know when they're gonna kick you out, but you seem to be doing better...." Yuffie said, and left. Simple as that...she was gone. Cloud sighed and layed back on the bed, pulling up the blanket over his head. He slowly drifted off into an uneasy sleep.
---
Rays of light warmed what little bare skin shown on Cloud Strife. He sat at the stairs of the world's exit, hoping to catch Sora before he left. He'd meant to give him a small gift before, but hadn't had the chance to before. He held the small stone in his hand, Sonic Blade. An ability stone, giving the owner the chance to use the contained attack.
'Like Materia.' A voice rang in his head. 'materia?' a puzzled look found its way to his lowered face. 'what the *hell* is materia?' Why was he even thinking about something like that? The word sounded less than foriegn in his mind, but he couldn't for the life of him recall what 'materia' was.
Why did it feel like there was a part of his past torn from him? Like he was missing something vital. 'Materia'. The word repeated itself in his head over and over. Why couldn't he remember? He looked up slightly, and reminded himself that he was supposed to be seeing the keybearer, who was only a few yards away now.
Now was not the time to worry about 'materia'.
((Sorry for another short chapter, but I'm eating and I wanna make a new RP site and stuff, so I'll have to make this some more later, alright? please review
--Kawaii))